Hello tournament fans. Things are rolling along smoothly here at the newsletter. sailorseal is taking up writing for the News Hound, to give blacky44 a hand. Hope you all are out having fun!As always, if you have any ideas or just want to help out, drop us a line.

ofthe wrote:A randomly generated player from either team is going to be a spy for his/her opponents. The spy's teamates won't know which of the players is the spy. The team of 3 which doesn't contain the spy (which has the spy working for them) will know who the spy is after X amount of turns (set by me).Therefore, the spy will want his normal team to lose

There has been a buzz around lately about secret diplomacy within a tournament. The question is "Should spies be allowed within a tournament if they were sent by the organizer?"Here is what the community thought:

Night Strike wrote:

ofthe wrote:

jpcloet wrote:Did you clear this with a TD?

Unless you state clearly what the spy can and cannot do, this is a predefined secret diplomacy and not allowed.

Well, no. I haven't asked a TD yet, but I suppose, once it's time to do so, I'll have to inform them. The tourney participants will know very clearly how the games are played so it's not like i'll be cheating anybody. Everybody will know the idea of the game will be about inconspicuously helping the other team (if you're the spy).

I'm glad I dropped by. JP is correct, this is not allowed in a tournament, and probably shouldn't be allowed in Callouts either.

jpcloet wrote:I like innovative ideas, however, you have to still make sure you follow the rules. If you have something that is questionable, you should be asking 1. in the right area and 2. from someone who really knows that area.

Gilligan wrote:

ofthe wrote:edit: alright, jp, I really want this to go ahead, so who should I be contacting to talk about it?

You've already got your answer. This idea is full of secret diplomacy, and to an extent serial teammate killing which are both against site rules.

Here are how some of the currently ongoing tournaments are progressing. Just click the title to visit the thread. Want your tournament listed here? Use the form at the end of this letter!

10 Years Later: Fight ClubOrganiser: perchorinWe are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world. Watch us replay scenes from the best movie of 1999! Who will be left standing as the buildings come tumbling down?

Isle Cruise using a 7x7 windmill setupOrganiser Name: PaulusHMost groups already left Madagascar and went to the British Isles.Planned end date: 6 September

Mac Dinner Date using a 5x5 windmill setupOrganiser: PaulusHusing a 5x5 windmill setupOnly one car left to visit the McDrive, in fact same situation for weeks now Planned end date: 5 September

This week we had the opportunity to interview one of the Tournament Directors, Gilligan. All questions are submitted by readers of the newsletter. Next week, we check in with one of the organisers, b00060.You can submit your questions in this thread.

Now, on with the interview!

Q: Hello, Gilligan.

A: Hello Gozar, and lots of random people that asked me questions.

Q:What has changed since your last interview?

A:To be honest I don't really remember my last interview, it was over a year ago if I remember correctly. But the obvious points would be more experience and the job of Tournament Director.

Q:What does the future of tournaments on Conquer Club look like?

A:Forever growing. My duty of keeping the Hall of Fame updated has been really tough as of late with the great increase of completed tournaments.

Q:Tell us about your overall tournament experience from when you first joined a tournament to the present day. How has it changed for you? Is it a better experience than before? Worse?

A:I didn't get into tournaments until 5 months after I started my conquering. It's made my stay more enjoyable because it got me into the forums and into G1.

Q: How many tournaments have you run already, and do you have a goal in mind for how many you want to run in total before you "retire"? How many are you running right now?

A:21 finished (With one more finishing within the next few days). Before I retire I want to get 30 done - Which is not that hard of a goal, seeing as I have 7 ongoing (Not counting the one about to finish) and at least 2 more planned.

Who Rules...?: A tournament based on real-life maps that are close to buildings (IE CCU, Madness, and Draknor).

Who Rules the School?Who Rules the House?Who Rules the Dungeon?

...Madness!: Where you play every map with the same players.

3 Man Madness!4 Man Madness!8 Man Madness!

...Wars: Where you play every map in a specific region.

North American WarsNorth American Wars IIEuropean WarsAsian Wars

Pirate Master: Play games, vote each other out.

Pirate Master: ItalyPirate Master: USA

Super Smash Bros.: Play everyone in your division - Advance and do it again until the finals with unique maps.

Super Smash Bros Doubles LeagueSuper Smash Bros Singles League

In Honor Of...: Play every map made by a specific cartographer in a simple bracket.

In Honor of WidowMakers

Randomized: The name says it all, randomized stuffs.

Randomized Randomization!The Tournament of All Tournaments (Alright you can stop laughing at the name now)

Q:What is your favourite tournament you have run?

A:The Madness series to be sure. It's a long laster that hasn't lost my attention yet.

Q:Have you enjoyed organizing 7 man madness?

A:Sure have, and had a blast playing in it too. Too bad the last set of games for me is today, I don't think I'll be advancing.

Q:What would you say is your most successful tournament and why?

A:The Smash tournaments and Madness series I'd say are my best. Organized, on time, exciting.

Q: What is your favorite tournament you’ve played in? Why?

A:poptartpsycho18's Terminator Madness was fun... Nerve wracking right until the end where I won by 1 point. It was a fun way to earn points (In the tournament and for my score). Lots of games too making it more difficult.

Q:Are you selective about which types of tournaments you join or do you join just about everything you can fit into your personal game load? If you are selective, do you look for certain styles or organizers?

A:I tend to stay away from large 2 player games... Like the one Opie just put out a few days ago because I tend to do badly and it kills my score. I don't join as many as I used to, but I show up every now and then for a Championship Series or anything really. Just no freestyle/adjacent/no spoils.

Q:What would be your dream tournament if someone were to offer to run it for you so that you just had to show up and play? Or, have you already participated in your dream tournament?

A:My dream tournament? I really don't even know what kind of tournament I would want most. I like all types of standard tournaments.

Q: Overall, are you playing a lot in tournaments? If not, then why and where do you find your games to play?

A:I think, out of my 78 games, the maximum amount of games that aren't tournaments is 5. It's funny cause I haven't joined a large one in a while as far as I can remember, which may not bee that far.

Q: What makes a successful organizer?

A:Organization. Imagination. Being on time with updates and games. That's all there really is to it.

Q: What mistakes do you see tournament organizers make the most?

A:Players joining wrong games, not enough organization to help the accurateness of scores, not enough information about the tournament (IE settings and such).

Q:What is your opinion on organizer neutrality? Should organizers be allowed to place themselves against their own clanmates in tournaments? Should organizers be allowed to join their own tournaments at all?

A:I have joined every one my tournaments (Save for 2... They were ranked tournaments where I didn't have said rank).

"Place themselves against their own clanmates in tournaments?" -- Not sure what that even means.

Q:Should “question marks” be allowed to join tournaments?

A:Depends... I like to let everyone in, but I haven't had many question marks join my tournaments to come across that. I suppose I wouldn't, because they can be unreliable (Lots of new recruits are deadbeats) and they'll have plenty of time later on if they stick around to join tournaments.

Q: If you could change one thing about Conquer Club in general, what would it be?

A:I'd like to see more gameplay options. Other than that, I'm fine here (Last interview I think I said I wanted Flame Wars gone... And it is, so I've no issues at the moment!)

Q: If there was something that the Conquer Club administrators could implement into the game to make tournaments easier to manage, what would it be? Similarly, is there anything you would like to see taken away from Conquer Club to make running tournaments easier?

A:To take away: Fix PMs to the way they were; where a reply doesn't go to everyone listed in the PM.

To add: Hrm... Perhaps programs that could easily add information to the Hall of Fame... Not specifically tournaments, but it'd be cool.

Q: Is there anything that you would recommend to encourage new tournament organizers?

A:Start off easy, but not too easy. Don't go in over your head for the first time, it'll most likely be too hard.

Q:When did you become a Tournament Director?

A:January 1, 2009

Q:What have you learned from being a Tournament Director?

A:I haven't learned all that much, but now I can deal with people more efficiently because I've experienced it more.

Q:Why did you become a Tournament Director? Is the job as expected?

A:It's a lot more work than I expected, but it's fun.

Q:How much time does CC take from your day?

A:Phew... Lots of time. Probably 4-5 hours. A good chunk of it is for games and forum-going, it's not all work.

Q:Are you a member of any clans or usergroups?

A:G1 baby!

Q:What are your thoughts on Conquer Club's first and so far only official tournament, the CC Olympics?

A:It's a good idea, but NS needs to stop slacking

Q:Why haven't we seen more official tournaments?

A:Is there really a need for official tournaments? What would it change?

Q:Are official tournaments planned for the future? You may not use OTIS in your response.

A:Maybe, maybe not. OTIS!

Q:What about in clan tournament privileges?

A:Currently not allowed, but maybe in the future. It's something the Clan Directors will have to discuss with the Tournament Directors.

Q:Who are you?

A:I am me, who else were you expecting?

Q: Why did you pick the name Gilligan?

A:Ah the infamous question... Gilligan's Island, the most amazingest awesomest show ever.

Q:What was wrong with using the name Skipper or Proffesor Or even Ginger or Maryanne for your user name?

A:Cause Gilligan is my favorite, closely followed by the Professor... But 'Gilligan' sounded like a better username, I'm no professor!

Q:If you had to choose one tree, in one city, to burn down, where would the wolf roam?

A:Italy because I would stay there before (And after) burning down the tree!